Stanford University receives record gift: $151 million

PALO ALTO -- Stanford University has received a jaw-dropping $151 million donation, its largest gift ever from a single living person, the university announced Monday.

It is not the first philanthropic record made by the Silicon Valley real estate developer John Arrillaga Sr., who attended Stanford on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1960. Arrillaga gave the university $100 million in 2006 -- then the largest donation of its kind -- and his family's name appears on buildings all over campus: Arrillaga Family Sports Center, the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation, the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center and the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons.

His family's endowed scholarships support 50 students a year, according to the university.

The newest donation was not designated for a single purpose but will be used for "a variety of university projects," the university said.

"John is a true friend to Stanford, combining extraordinary generosity with unwavering service," said a statement from university President John Hennessy.

Stanford has benefitted greatly -- especially in recent years -- from the largesse of alumni and other donors. In 2012, it became the first university in the nation to raise more than $1 billion in a single year -- $55,745 for every student, according to a survey conducted by the Council for Aid to Education. The survey also found that Stanford raised more money than other universities for eight straight years.

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Arrillaga's daughter reflected on her father's humble beginnings and life as a Stanford student-athlete in a piece posted on the university's website. Her father washed dishes, delivered mail and did gardening to cover his living expenses while he was an undergraduate, wrote Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, a public policy and philanthropy lecturer at Stanford.

Arrillaga-Andreessen also described her father's role, decades later, in the financing and construction of the university's new football stadium, which opened in 2006. He made "high-level decisions on stadium design and landscaping while paying attention to detail, overseeing 24-hour construction crews, picking out every tree, selecting seat materials and tasting countless hot dogs before choosing which brand to serve," she said.

His philanthropic philosophy, she said, is: "Give as much as you possibly can and give equally from among your resources — time, mind and money."